Secrets Exposed
by Ice-Song
Summary: Ayumi catches Shinichi deducing a mystery while he is still talking as Mouri in front of Ran, Megure, Satou and Takagi. Afterwards he is forced to spill everything and Haibara is less then happy. But could this be a blessing in disguise? ShinxRan
1. Chapter 1

Shinichi chewed his lower lip as he gazed at the crime scene. It was something to behold all right. A man was sprawled on the floor, dead and there were no marks on his body. No visible sign that he was murdered. And yet, it was a murder, he just knew it. Something told him, nagged at him, something in his mind said that is was a murder and that the person responsible was in the room he was currently standing in. 

"Conan-kun?" a soft voice said by his elbow.

Shinichi blinked and turned to see Ayumi looking awkward and apprehensive. Her large eyes kept on glancing from the dead body to the floor as she avoided both looking at the body and Shinichi's hardened glare. He saw this and smiled for her benefit, using his child tone to assure her that he was there. "Yes, Ayumi-chan?" he asked cheerfully.

"Can we… leave?" she whispered. "I don't like…" she glanced at the body again and shivered involuntarily.

Shinichi's gaze softened in the wake of her distress. Of course she was upset. Poor girl had seen more dead bodies in the past few months then most police officers had in a life time. It was certainly something a six year old like herself shouldn't have been exposed to. "Actually, Ayumi-chan, can you do me a big favor?"

Ayumi brought her gaze up to meet Shinichi's and smiled. "Sure," she said brightly.

Shinichi gazed around the room that they were in. It was a doctor's office but the person that had died was a man. In a room that he should never have had access to in the first place by any visible means. And, he was clutching un-opened heart medicine packs in his fist which meant he made no effort to stop a heart attack if that's what indeed killed him. It was a puzzling mystery indeed.

"Conan-kun?" Ayumi asked. Shinichi was jerked out of his deducing state as he turned once again to the girl. "What do you need me to do?"

"Oh right!" Shinichi said, laughing a little at his own absent minded-ness. He dug in his pocket to pull out a few yen coins which he put in Ayumi's hand and closed her fingers around them. An action which made the small girl's heart beat hard against her ribs. "Can you go get me something to drink?" he asked in his small boy's voice. "I'm really thirsty." He leaned closer, "And go ahead and take awhile if you don't want to come back until the body is gone."

"All right!" Ayumi said happily and left the room with the coins held tightly in her hand. She called to the other two boys who were lulling at the edge of the room, also trying very hard not to stare at the dead body. They happily followed their friend into the hallway in search of a vending machine.

Shinichi gave a little smile as they left then resumed thinking about the open book mystery in front of them. No sign of the weapon, no sign of how the man was killed, no motive and consequently, no suspect. But something was wrong. Something was out of place, but he couldn't find it.

"Well, it looks like a suicide, once we figure out how," he heard Satou say behind him. "I don't think it was a murder."

'Crap,' he thought. He had to figure out the trick and fast or the crime scene would be taken down and the clues would be gone. He gazed around the room, trying to find something that would help him. Anything.

He looked at the body again, and saw that indeed, it was quite dead. It wasn't natural for just anyone to walk into a medical supply office room and drop dead, and yet it appeared that's what had happened. But as he himself had proven, appearances could be quite deceiving.

Something had to stop the man's heart. Something had to… but what? They checked all of the electrical devices in the room and all of them were fine. No poisons, no sign of violence. Just a middle aged man where he shouldn't be and apparently very dead.

"What's wrong?" he heard Megure's voice ask.

"Well umm…" Takagi's stutter could be heard in response. "We searched his car and we found that he was to meet someone later today."

Shinichi's eyes widened.

"And, who was it?" Megure asked.

Takagi looked down at the slip of paper in his hands. "Well, it seems that he was to meet a woman by the name of Hikaru Oyamada. Apparently she was a long time acquaintance of the deceased."

"Call her here," Megure ordered. "When was he supposed to meet her?"

Takagi glanced at his watch, then at the slip of paper. "Now, it seems."

Conan walked over to the body and examined it once more. His eyes roved up and down, looking for anything that might possibly help him. Mouri came up behind him and rapped him on the head with his knuckles. "Sheesh, you think you would have learned by now not to mess with the scene, brat."

"Owowow!" Shinichi rubbed his head in a comical little kid manner and backed off with a silent grin. He now understood what had happened. He just had to wait for the murderer to arrive.

Ten minutes later Hikaru walked through the door wearing sweat pants and an overly large hoodie. She was in her mid fifties and looked as though she had seen better days. "Oh my god!" she squealed. "He…"

"We're sorry ma'am but it appears that he committed suicide. We called you here to ask if you knew any reasons why, and to identify him."

"Jiro…" she whispered. "It's him. Why did you call me here? Couldn't I have been called to head quarters?"

"We just found the body, with no I.D." Megure explained. "We found his car by process of elimination of claimed cars in the parking lot but there was no wallet or anything inside that had a picture I.D. we could use. I'm very sorry ma'am."

"No…" she breathed. "It's all right. Suicide? I'm not surprised. Jiro was a very unhappy man."

Megure nodded and took the woman by the arm in a kindly way. "You can explain the rest at the police station."

"Of course," she whispered.

Shinichi aimed his dart and let it pierce the side of Mouri's neck. The man swayed like a palm tree in a hurricane and fell into the swivel chair that was by the desk. Shinichi ran over and positioned the unconscious man before running behind him and pulling out his bow tie. "Stop right there, inspector!" he said in Mouri's gruff voice. "That woman is a murderer."

"Mouri-kun?" Megure turned around to eye the sleeping man. "Don't be silly, how could she have done it when there is no conceivable way for him to have been killed?"

"That's right dad!" Ran now chimed in as she watched from the door. "You said yourself that it was a suicide."

'Of course he did, he believes only what he sees,' Shinichi thought disdainfully. "That was before I saw the watch that the man was wearing."

"Watch?" Takagi asked. "We looked at the watch, there was no needle. Nothing that could have been used to kill him."

"The watch has stopped," Shinichi continued.

"So? He probably fell on it or something," Megure replied with a frown.

"No," Shinichi continued. "The watch was rigged. Probably a wire of some kind, to spark when it hit a specific time and short circuit. A weak current, yes, but for a man who had severe heart conditions it was enough."

"How do you know he had heart problems?" Megure asked.

"It was why he was here," Shinichi said. "He was here to meet with a doctor about medication he could have taken. Only, since no one admitted to it, I'm willing to bet that it was an untested drug. Something that had to be done secretly. In any case, the man had been looking at some samples of heart medication before he collapsed. He didn't take any which is why they're untouched but I'm willing to bet he had heart problems and that that woman there was perfectly aware of it."

"D-don't be silly," the woman laughed, an unnatural quaver to her voice. "Jiro was one of my best friends, why on earth would I kill him?"

"Why would he commit suicide when he was to meet you in two hours? And in a doctor's office no less," Shinichi continued. "No, he was killed. And if you examine the watch for crossed wires and a timer you'll find I'm right."

"Well then, how do you know I'm the killer?" the woman asked, a little haughty tone in her voice.

"He was to meet you right now?" Shinichi asked. "About ten minutes ago."

"R-right," the woman stuttered.

"Where?" Shinichi asked.

The woman didn't answer to Takagi came forth with the man's palm pilot. "At the restaurant in Regency Hotel."

"Why would a woman such as yourself go to such a high class restaurant in sweat clothes?" Shinichi asked. "Unless you never planned to meet him to begin with. Because you knew he was already dead."

The woman's eyes widened and she slid to the floor.

"Quite an amateur mistake, for someone who seemed to have plotted this out so carefully," Shinichi continued. "But perhaps it was just habit. Why go meet someone you knew was dead?"

The woman bit her lip and shook her head. "I hated him," she whispered. "I hated that man. For choosing her over me. I hated him…"

Megure looked unhappy as he ordered the policemen to arrest the now sobbing woman. As she was lead out he turned back to Mouri. "But how did you know it was her before she was here?" he asked.

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Ayumi picked up the juice can. "Let's take this back to Conan-kun. I bet it's all done now."

Genta nodded. "Yeah, maybe we can go to the park afterwards."

Mitsuhiko nodded his own agreement and stood up. "Sound's good," he said and followed the spunky girl back to the room.

"How did you know it was here before she was here?" they heard Megure's voice come through the door.

"That's simple," Mouri's voice could be heard.

"They solved the mystery!" Ayumi squealed.

"There was a mystery?" Genta asked. "Awww, and we missed it."

"Let's catch the ending," she whispered excitedly and opened the door. She turned to see Mouri facing her profile, slumped in a swivel chair. Behind the man, talking into a bowtie was Conan. "C-conan-kun?" she stuttered.

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"That's simple," Shinichi continued. "Conan-kun saw you dialing a number without an area code and he asked me why. That's when it hit me. You were calling her at home at the time she was supposed to meet the deceased. In other words she had no intention of ever even pretending to meet him. She probably never though someone would think it was a murder…"

Out of the corner of his eye Shinichi saw Ayumi come into the room and turn his way. His speech slowed as she stared at him along with Genta and Mitsuhiko. "C-conan-kun?" she asked.

"Oh crap," Shinichi breathed.

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I was afriad to write for Conan because I didn't think I had the skill to put together a decent mystery to set it up. I still don't think this turned out great but the plot bunnies were eating me alive and it hurt.

So, I came up with this and the actual story will start next chapter. With luck it may be posted some time later tonight or tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

"Conan?" Megure asked and walked over to where the drama scene was unfolding. 

"Conan," Ran said in a more decisive way and walked over and towered over the boy, her hands on her hips. "What are you doing there?" she asked.

"He… was talking and it sounded like Mr. Mouri," Ayumi said in a puzzled voice. "I heard it."

Megure turned to Mouri and shook him lightly on the shoulder. "What's going on?" he asked. "Hey!" he gasped as Mouri fell out of the chair and onto the floor.

Shinichi began to sweat bullets as everything unraveled before his eyes. "Ummm…" he said slowly. "I uhh…"

"You're Shinichi," Ran said finally. "That's it, isn't it? Sleeping Kogoro, it was always you. You…"

"What do you mean that's Shinichi?" Megure gasped.

Mouri chose just then to wake up. "Huh?" he asked.

Momentarily everyone's attention shifted to the bumbling man. Shinichi took the opening and bolted out the door. "Wait!" he heard Ran's voice. "Shinichi!"

"Oh man, oh man," Shinichi panted as he ran down the hall. He heard running steps behind him and he could only guess that he was being pursued. Without a second thought he ran into the main hallway of the hospital and used his small size to his advantage. He ran outside as fast as he could and disappeared into the crowd that was walking down the sidewalk.

Megure and Takagi both ran out of the hospital, panting. "We lost him," Takagi said into his walkie talkie to Satou.

"Kudou-kun…" Megure said softly. "I don't believe it."

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"Professor Agasa!" Shinichi yelled as he ran into the professor's house. "Professor Agasa!"

"You're being awfully loud today," Haibara said in her usual drawl as Shinichi ran into the living room.

"Not the time," Shinichi gasped. "I have to find Professor Agasa."

Haibara looked Shinichi over once and narrowed her eyes. "What happened?"

Professor Agasa chose that moment to come into the room, sipping on a cup of coffee. "Shinichi?" he asked.

Shinichi's blue eyes widened. "I've been found out," he gasped.

"What do you mean, 'found out'?" Haibara asked.

"I mean, 'found out'!" Shinichi yelled. "Ayumi saw me talking into the microphone as Mouri. She exposed me and Ran… well obviously nothing will ever change her mind again. I've been exposed, Haibara."

"All because you had to play detective," Haibara growled.

"Well it's gone right the other 400 times I've done it!" Shinichi yelled back.

"Now, now you two," Agasa said in a calm voice in an effort to get the two shrunk teens to calm down.

"Now not only are we in danger but they are all in danger too," Haibara continued. "They know, Kudou. They saw. Now what? You're going to run away? Run to mommy and daddy in America? Can you?"

"Shut up," Shinichi snarled. "I didn't mean for this to happen. Someone was murdered and I knew who killed them. I've been doing it for months."

"And now you've been found out. Your police friends can probably make it so you can't leave the country or catch you before you do if they want to. So, I ask again, now what?" Haibara growled.

Shinichi opened his mouth to continue the argument but Agasa put an end to it by yelling, "Both of you, stop it now!" as loudly as he could, shocking both children into silence. They both turned to him with wide eyes, unsure what to say next. "Now, listen to me. This is unfortunate but we can't run away. Not now. Not with the police knowing. Shinichi, you will stay here until things calm down then you will explain yourself to them. Just. Them. Understand?"

Shinichi nodded numbly.

"Ai-kun, I want you to keep an eye out for Ran-kun. Chances are she'll come here first," he said. "Do we understand?"

"Yes," they both answered softly.

"Good now…" he was cut off from lecturing any more. He sighed and pulled out his phone. "Hello? This is Agasa… yes." Agasa heaved a big sigh and left the room. Shinichi started to follow but Haibara put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"You know who it is, so why bother?" she asked. "What's happened has happened."

"Yeah…" Shinichi said unhappily.

"If it's the inspector, Professor Agasa will most likely invite him over," Haibara sighed.

"Yeah…" Shinichi agreed.

"So," Haibara's lips twisted unhappily. "Do you want to face them as Shinichi Kudou or Conan Edogawa?"

"What?" Shinichi turned to face the young girl.

Haibara pulled out a small capsule from her pocket. "I reproduced the cure. Same warnings as last time. I suspect it'll last between 36 and 48 hours this time. Ran is beyond hope, and she will convince everyone else you are truly Shinichi Kudou. There's no point in trying to trick anyone anymore, however I can offer you this."

Shinichi looked at the tiny capsule in the palm of her hand.

"So, do you want to face the music as Shinichi or Conan?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

Shinichi looked from the drug to Haibara. "You're mad at me… why…"

"Because," she said, gritting her teeth. "Because, even though you screwed up, you should at least face your problems as yourself."

"Haibara…" Shinichi looked at the woman who had created the drug that had given him the body he was in in the first place.

"So, what do you chose, Shinichi Kudou?" she asked, holding out the capsule.

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Shinichi quickly dialed a number into the phone and paced back and forth in the bathroom as it rung. Finally someone on the other end picked up. "Hattori speak…"

"Hattori!" Shinichi yelled into the phone.

"Kudou, hey, what's up?" the western detective asked.

"Hattori, I've been completely found out," Shinichi said in a tight voice.

"What?" Heiji sat up and stared at his phone as if it had sprouted arms and legs.

"Ran, her dad, Inspector Megure, Officer Takagi, Officer Satou, Ayumi-chan, Genta-kun and Mitsuhiko-kun all saw me," Shinichi sighed.

Heiji gripped the phone with a shaking hand. "And?" he asked.

Shinichi looked at the capsule in his hand and took a deep breath. "I'm at Professor Agasa's house right now. They're coming over and…"

"You're coming clean?" Heiji asked.

Shinichi nodded. "Yeah, there's nothing I can do. Not against three police officers."

Heiji stroked his chin. "And?" he asked.

"I thought…" Shinichi blinked, not realizing why he called the energetic detective to begin with.

Heiji smiled. "I deserved to know?" he finished. "Well, we are friends after all. Still, you must be pretty freaked out, Kudou."

"You have no idea," Shinichi groaned. "Anyways, I panicked and called and…"

"Eh, don't sweat it," Heiji answered. "I'll hop on a plane as soon as I can and come over for a bit to monitor things."

"You don't have…" Shinichi started.

"I know I don't have to idiot. I'm your friend right? It's part of being friends and junk," Heiji said with a small smile. "Besides, you'll probably need someone there to make sure Ran doesn't kill you."

Shinichi broke out in a cold sweat, "Yeah, no kidding," he said.

"So, it's settled. I'll be there as soon as possible, see ya, Kudou," Heiji said cheerfully and hung up.

Shinichi pressed the call button on the cell phone and ended the call as well. He took in a deep breath, realizing why he called Hattori. He needed to hear someone's confident voice before he did what he was about to do. Someone's confident voice that wasn't currently mad at him. He glanced at the change of clothes on the floor and undressed himself from his smaller change of clothes. He shut his eyes and put the pill into his mouth.

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"Please come in," Professor Megure said in a kind voice to the people at his door. "Shinichi is here somewhere, he'll be out soon."

Ran clenched her fist so hard that it shook, but she gave no other outward sign of her distress.

"Then he really…" Takagi said in a small voice.

Megure nodded, "Yes. And the details as to how and why it happened will be explained by him once he comes out."

"What?" Mouri drawled in a tight voice. "You trust that brat not to run away like last time?"

"Wh-who said I was gonna run away?" an older male voice said from the hallway.

"Sh…" Ran looked over and saw Shinichi step out into the living room area that they were in. He was pale and sweating but it was most certainly him. "Shinichi…" her eyes widened.

Shinichi smiled and took a deep breath. "Hello, Ran," he said.

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Rawr, I know I said this would be up in 24 hours but the motherboard in my desktop decided to die and so I have spent the past few days arguing with the warranty people and backing up my hard drive. My deepest apologies, I usually am pretty good at keeping some kind of scheduele.

Tell you what, if enough people tell me they're reading this and my angsty comments aren't falling on deaf ears, I will do my damndest to write a new chapter and post it tomorrow, wednesday at the latest. Sound good? (I've got soooo much planned for this fic, he he >D)

As always, hope you enjoyed reading it and hopefully I can recover the rest of my hard drive and get my desktop fixed soon so I can write more comfortably.


	3. Chapter 3

Ran took three quick steps towards Shinichi and smacked him across the face as hard as she possibly could. Everyone else stood stock still as the sound of the slap reverberated in the room. Shinichi staggered a little as Ran stood over him with tears in her eyes. "How DARE you!" she screeched. "How… dare you," she said again in a softer voice. 

Shinichi brought a hand up to his cheek as he stood up straight again. He turned his stunned gaze to match Ran's furious one. "Dammit Shinichi! All this time. All this time! I thought you were gone, or in trouble or something. Something was wrong. Up until you called me, for all I knew you were dead! And all this time you've been right underneath me. Not only that but you've gone out of your way to make sure I never found out! By copying yourself somehow. Somehow." Ran bit her lower lip. "Shinichi…" she choked out and wrapped her arms around his adult frame. "You're really here."

Shinichi blinked a couple of times. The last thing he expected was to be embraced by the one person who had the most reason to be upset at him. Especially after being slapped. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around what Ran was thinking and his thought process summed up to 'Huh?' He looked questioningly at Megure who shrugged in return. "R-ran…" he said softly.

"Just shut up for a few seconds," she hissed. "Before you explain everything, just be quiet. I need…"

Shinichi nodded and wondered if it was all right to return the embrace. He settled for awkwardly stroking Ran's hair. "All right," he said kindly.

Ayumi watched the scene and bit her lip, resisting the urge to burst into tears herself. She was still trying to get over the shock that the man in front of her was Conan, aged ten or so years.

"R-ran-kun, you two can make up later. Right now we need answers," Megure said kindly.

Ran nodded and took in a deep breath. She let go of Shinichi but forced him to sit by her on the couch behind them as Shinichi got ready to tell his story. It seemed that fire would fall from the sky before she would let Shinichi go again.

Shinichi sighed but didn't exactly protest at the treatment. He gazed around the room and let his gaze fall on Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko. "They can't hear," he said sternly.

"What?" Genta protested. "Aw come on! I thought Conan was our friend."

"That's right!" Ayumi added. "Aren't we friends."

"Of course, but you are way too young and besides…" Shinichi bit his lip. "Well, there's a reason I haven't told anyone," he growled. "And if you knew what I was about to say, your life would be targeted. So, absolutely not. I'd kick Ran out if I could…"

"I'd kick your ass first," she sniffed and clutched Shinichi's arm tighter. "I've done it before, I can do it again."

"They'd target our lives regardless," Haibara said in a cool voice as she made her entrance. "By association at this point. They can listen."

"Are you sure?" Shinichi asked.

Haibara nodded, "Might as well," she said and sat next to Ayumi. "Everyone in this room has already seen and heard too much."

Shinichi's lips twisted in some sort of frown as he looked around the room. "Well," he sighed. "All right. Let me start by asking you a question, Inspector Megure."

"Yes?" the policeman asked.

"Have you ever heard of something called the Black Organization?" he asked in a low voice.

Megure frowned. "Black…" his eyes narrowed. "Yes, I've heard rumors and hearsay over the years about a syndicate that moves underground. They assassinate in secret, and control a lot of the organized crime in Japan and elsewhere. Last I heard was that the FBI was even on their tail but the person I heard that from died about two years later. Come to think of it…"

"Everyone that had any idea about their existence that was more then rumor has died or vanished, right?" Shinichi finished.

"Yes… that's right. But how… don't tell me," Megure gasped.

Shinichi nodded. "Remember the night I took you to the amusement park?" he asked Ran suddenly.

"Of course! That's the first time you… vanished…" she finished slowly, the realization dawning on her. "Then…"

Shinichi nodded. "Yeah, then after I solved the murder on the roller coaster I saw a guy in black in the car near us. I followed him at that time and witnessed a payoff to the syndicate. I took some pictures and I wasn't pay attention to what was going on behind me. Anyways, the guy's partner snuck up behind me and hit me over the head.

"They were afraid to shoot me because of all the police around at the time. So they forced me to take a drug that was developed for their organization. Supposedly it was to kill me and then vanish, leaving no trace of any poison behind but that didn't happen. Instead…"

Ran cut him off. "Instead you were shrunk back down into a little kid."

Shinichi nodded. "When I woke up the camera was gone and I was freaked out. I ran away from the police because let's face it, who would believe a kid with head trauma claiming he was a junior in high school? I met up with Professor Agasa after not being able to get into my house and he convinced me not to tell anyone."

"Then why live with MY daughter in MY house!" Mouri snapped.

Shinichi rubbed the back of his head. "Well, you see I couldn't live in my house because after a body wasn't found they would undoubtedly look at my house. When Ran showed up Professor Agasa said it would be a good idea to live there because you're a detective. In time I might find information about the guys who attacked me and get a hold of the drug."

Ran shook with anger. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"What?" Shinichi asked.

"Shinichi, you are one of the most valued consultants in Tokyo. You have connections to the police." Ran swung her hand to gesture at the three policemen across from her. "You couldn't tell them? People who actually have power in the law? You couldn't ask these people for help? I've known you for almost 17 years, Shinichi! My dad has known you for just as long. It never occurred to you to ask for help?"

"I…" Shinichi stuttered but Ran shook her head.

"She's right, Shinichi," Satou said in a stern voice. "You could have come to us. It may have taken some time to convince us, I'll admit but we would have helped."

Shinichi frowned. "But Megure just said that the Black Organization even targets policemen who know about their existence. I'll bet the police stations haven't even researched them because they are afraid of getting hit by them."

"So?" Ran asked. "You couldn't trust your friends enough to ask for help? You couldn't trust me or my dad?"

"It's not like that," Shinichi protested but Ran took his hand and squeezed it, startling Shinichi into silence.

"What's done is done but from now on you will accept our help," she hissed. Everyone in the room nodded their consent. "And I'm still mad at you," she finished huffily.

Shinichi merely looked away from her upset gaze and at the floor. "Obviously," he sighed.

"Well, we know how," Satou said. "But why are you normal now?"

Shinichi looked at the pretty cop. "Well, I…" he glanced at Haibara who shook her head. "Professor Agasa has been able to create a drug that lets me return to my normal body for a short period of time. I've used it twice. The first time I turned back was when I met Hattori, and I drank that alcohol. For some reason it messes with the chemical structure enough to make my body go back to normal, but not for very long."

Professor Agasa nodded. "R-right. I still can't seem to make anything that's permanent."

"And the girl?" Satou asked.

"Haibara?" Professor Agasa and Shinichi asked together.

"Yes. She's in this too, somehow," Satou said, narrowing her eyes. Takagi blinked at her, unsure of whether she was being forceful or downright pushy.

'Wow she's quick,' Shinichi noted. "Well…"

"I'm like him," Haibara said coolly. "I'm also a victim of the apotoxin drug. That's all you need to know."

Satou and the other policemen that were present seemed to accept this for the time being. "A-anyways, that's what happened," Professor Agasa concluded.

"But… we've seen Conan-kun and Shinichi-nii-chan in the same place," Ayumi said suddenly. "How…"

"That's right," Ran gasped. "I have seen you in two places at once. Unless… Hattori… but…"

"Hattori has only dressed up as me twice and both times he's been caught," Shinichi said. "The time they're talking about, Haibara dressed up as 'Conan' while I was in my normal body for awhile."

"But what about the opera?" Ayumi pressed. "When we went to go protect the ring, remember?"

Shinichi gritted his teeth. "Yeah, I remember," he growled.

"Wait… then that was really… Kaito Kid?" Ran gasped.

"Yes," Shinichi said flatly in a tone that clearly stated he wished the issue to be dropped.

"Then, that other time after the egg incident," Ran pressed.

"That was him too. Look, can we not talk about this?" Shinichi asked.

"That would mean he knows who you are," Mouri said with a small smirk.

Shinichi sighed exasperatedly. "Yes! Okay, Kaito kid knows who I am. The first time he appeared as me was to pay me back to saving his bird. The second time was to piss me off. All right?"

Satou grinned in spite of herself. "Not on kind terms with him, Kudou-kun?"

Kudou gritted his teeth. "You have no idea."

"It's your fault for going after him as a six year old," Haibara told him. "Anyone would be suspicious. And someone as smart as him would catch on immediately."

"Then why did you?" Ran asked Shinichi in a condescending tone.

"How else would I catch him?" Shinichi screeched. "The guy jumps around faster then is probably humanly possible. By the time I finished explaining through your dad he would be gone."

"Right, how do you do that, anyways?" Megure asked. "The Sleeping Kogoro act that is?"

"Yeah, brat," Mouri asked Shinichi with a bit of a harsh glare.

"Well it's obvious isn't it?" Shinichi sighed. "I use my tranquilizer watch to put you to sleep, sneak up behind you and use one of Professor Agasa's inventions that is a voice changer to imitate your voice and solve the murder." Mouri's eyes widened but Megure cut him off before he could lecture Shinichi.

"But why?" Megure asked. "Why do it if you need to keep your identity a secret."

"I've been asking myself that for ages," Haibara sighed.

"Someone has to," Shinichi said sulkily. "He sure as hell won't."

"What?" Mouri asked the sulky teen.

"You heard me," Shinichi shot back.

Megure held up his hands in a pacifist gesture. "Now, now you two. Let's calm down."

"Who else knows?" Takagi asked suddenly.

Shinichi blinked. "About me?" he asked. "Let's see… well obviously everyone in this room. Mom and dad, Hattori and Kaito Kid. That's it," he said.

"Your parents know?" Mouri asked. "And they never thought to take you back."

"Well, it's not like Shin-chan would come. And even if he did, he would run away," a cheerful voice said behind him. Everyone turned around to see Yukiko Kudou standing behind them.

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There you go guys. I promised an update in 24 hours and you got one. Give or take a bit X3 so, yay for that. I've got part of the next chapter written so we'll see how fast it comes out. I'm not making any promises though.


	4. Chapter 4

"M-mom!" Shinichi stood up quickly. "What are you doing here?" 

"Professor Agasa called me about an hour ago saying that everyone found out. I rushed over as soon as I could," she smiled. "Did I mention I was in the country for a date with some old friends?"

Shinichi sighed. "No mom, you seemed to have missed that little detail."

"Oh well," she said cheerfully and walked around to the other side of the couch. She held Shinichi at arms length and smiled at her son. "Oh, you're big again!" she said and hugged him. "Are you better?"

"N-no," Shinichi gasped out. "It's temporary. Ow mom, that hurts."

"But Shin-chan," she said in a pouty voice as she continued to hug her son. "You're my big Shin-chan again. I might not get to hug you for awhile. Let mama have some indulgence."

Shinichi rolled his eyes while his mom looked over his shoulder. "Anyways. We tried to convince Shin-chan to come over seas but he said no. He said that it was his case and that he would solve it on his own." Ran let out a rude snorting sound and Shinichi glared back through his mother's embrace. "Even if we forced him to come, he would have run away. He's very good at that. Aren't you, Shin-chan? Like that time you hid and no one could find you? But you got stuck and by the time we found you…"

"Moooom, stop!" Shinichi yelled. "They do not need to hear that story."

"You were crying like a baby," Ran finished with a wicked grin. "I remember that. As I recall I was the one who found you."

"Only because I showed you the place I was hiding in beforehand," Shinichi growled. "And I was stuck under the floor board that made up the place and I was five! Jeez."

"Well, you get my point," Yukiko finished to small snickers coming from several people in the room.

"Shinichi-nii-chan really got stuck?" Genta asked.

"Yes," Shinichi said in a tone that said to drop it. Which the large boy did.

"By the way, where's dad?" Shinichi asked.

"Your father is a bit south of here. He was looking up some reference points for his next novels. He should be here fairly soon," Yukiko said with a smile. "Since you'll end up turning back I guess we'll stay here for the time being. We've been meaning to come back for awhile anyways," she said in a gushing voice.

"Yay," Shinichi said sarcastically.

"Well then," Professor Agasa said while clapping his hands. "Shall we move on then? Since everything has been explained why don't we take the kids home and move on. I think everyone could use a little rest."

Yukiko nodded. "Yes, that sounds like a marvelous idea."

As Satou made her way out of the house she caught Shinichi by the wrist. "Tomorrow you'll tell us everything that you didn't today. Understand?"

"Y-yes ma'am," Shinichi said slowly.

Megure nodded and the three policemen left the house. Ayumi tugged on Shinichi's shirt as he waved at the police awkwardly. He knelt down to be on eye level with the girl. "Yes?" he asked.

"We'll… see you tomorrow?" she asked. "When you're Conan-kun again?"

Shinichi smiled. "Sorry, I won't be Conan-kun for a bit longer then that."

"Oh…" Ayumi's face fell.

"I may go to the park tomorrow, with Hattori once he gets here," Shinichi said.

"Okay," Ayumi said cheerfully and nodded. "Then maybe we'll see you there."

"Maybe," Shinichi agreed and watched the three kids leave the house.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," Ran said quietly. "I need to think."

"All right," Shinichi replied in an equally quiet voice as he watched her leave. Mouri followed his daughter with a quick glance back before catching up with her.

"You really love her, don't you, Shin-chan?" his mother asked softly.

Shinichi blushed and looked at the ground. "O-of course not," he hissed. "Of course not," he repeated as he watched her retreating form.

His mother's lips quirked upwards in a small smile. She knew better, and Shinichi knew that she knew better but that didn't matter. Shinichi wouldn't admit it and Ran wouldn't either even though they had told each other on several occasions that they loved each other, somehow it always seemed to fall through. Yukiko sighed and gave Shinichi a quick hug. "Well, Shin-chan, let's go home."

Shinichi nodded and actually let his mother see a small smile. "Yeah," he agreed.

"Awww, were you homesick?" Yukiko pushed as she and Shinichi went next door.

"No," Shinichi growled, his smile disappearing as quickly as it had formed. Yukiko laughed and took Shinichi by the arm as she pulled him back into his large, empty house.

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Shinichi woke up the next morning a little dazed. He felt heavier then he had in weeks and unusually lethargic. This dissipated once Hattori stuck his head into Shinichi's line of vision and gave the teen a large grin. "Hello," he said cheerfully. "And good morning."

Shinichi sat up with a start, forcing Hattori to straighten up quickly so as to not bump heads with Shinichi. "H-hattori," Shinichi stuttered while looking a little pale. "What…" he started before the events of the day before came back to him in a flood. His face fell and he calmed down, "Oh…" he murmured. "Right."

"You okay, Kudou?" Hattori asked with a little concern. "You seem more jumpy then usual."

Shinichi sighed and rolled out of bed. "I'm fine. I just forgot what happened last night for a bit, that's all."

Hattori frowned, "You sure?" he asked. "No nightmares, no missing your girlfriend? I heard she was royally pissed last night."

Shinichi ran his fingers through his hair in an effort to make it look like not such a big deal. "Yeah well… it's what I expected. Or at least, to a degree," he shrugged. "And what the hell are you doing here anyways?" he asked Hattori suddenly.

"I called once I got in this morning at about 2:30 am and your mom answered. She said it was all over and that you were asleep already but she invited me over to stay the night since I came up so late that the hotels weren't open," Hattori laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

Shinichi raised an eyebrow and led Hattori out of his room. "You left too quickly. You should have waited a little longer," Shinichi told him.

"Hey, I said it last night. We're friends, remember? Besides, your house is nicer then any hotel I could hope to afford," Hattori laughed as they went downstairs.

"Ah, the wolf shows his true colors," Shinichi teased Hattori with a wicked grin.

"You're not giving me enough credit for finding a plane to take me here so fast," Hattori sniffed in a mocking upset tone. "After all I've done for you…"

"And everything I've done for you," Shinichi reminded him. "I'd say we're about even."

"Touché," Hattori conceded as they made their way into the kitchen where Yukiko was cheerfully whistling and cooking something on the stove.

"Ah, Shin-chan, you're up," she said happily and waved with the spatula, sending little flecks of grease all over the kitchen.

"Morning, mom," Shinichi replied and sat down at the table. Hattori waited a few seconds before following suit.

"So, you have a day off and in your own body," Yukiko said with a small knowing grin. "What do you plan to do?" she asked.

Shinichi took an egg from the pan that his mother was holding and put it on a plate in front of him. "Go to the police headquarters so Officer Satou doesn't have an excuse to hunt me down later."

"Then," his mother pressed as she offered the pan to a surprised Hattori who awkwardly did the same as Shinichi.

Shinichi took a bite of the egg and chewed thoughtfully. "Then I will go to the park maybe? I don't know," he said with a tiny grin.

"Shin-chan!" his mother scolded as she returned to the stove. "I didn't come back to Japan to be a housewife again to see my son screw up one of his rare chances at romance."

"Since when was it your business?" Shinichi asked while sipping a glass of milk.

Hattori's eyes flicked back and forth from Shinichi to his mom as if watching a ping-pong match. It was the same principal, only for some reason it was much more entertaining.

"Shinichi," she said in a slightly angry voice. "You have to go to Ran-chan, if you don't she'll stay upset at you. She's waiting for you to go to her."

"I know," Shinichi said simply while setting his glass on the table. "I will, after I go to the police station."

"Leading you mother on like that. It's no wonder I stayed in America," Yukiko sighed and picked up a pre-made plate. "I'm going to your father's study. He came in last night and fell asleep in there. Clean up after yourselves," she said and left the kitchen.

"Are you really going to go to her?" Hattori asked.

Shinichi nodded and finished off his milk. "I can't let her stay upset at me forever, can I?" he asked. "May as well. Let her get all of her anger out."

Hattori shook his head. "Your funeral."

"Your girlfriend is just as scary," Shinichi informed him.

"She is not," Hattori protested before he caught himself. "She's also not my girlfriend."

"Riiiiight," Shinichi teased.

"Just like Ran's not your girlfriend," Hattori muttered while taking a sip of milk.

"Exactly," Shinichi told him, then caught himself. "Cute," he muttered and put his dishes in the sink.

"Eye for an eye, Kudou. I try my best," Hattori laughed as he too stood up.

"Whatever," Shinichi told him. "I'm going to get dressed," he said and slipped out of the kitchen before Hattori realized he was gone.

Hattori looked where Shinichi was and then at the dishes. He grumbled as he did them, plotting his revenge against Kudou.

Shinichi slipped into a pair of comfortable jeans and a red open chest sweatshirt over a dark blue t-shirt. He had just finished dressing when he heard the doorbell ring from the gate. He blinked and looked at the door, wondering who on earth it could be before it rang again. He walked towards the door and the bell sounded again and again, more consistently until he was jogging towards the gate in an effort to get whoever was there to leave the poor button alone.

"I heard it the first twenty times!" he yelled as he opened the gate.

Ran stuck her head from around the brick pillar that made up part of the gate that was in front of Shinichi's house. "I know," she said simply, her mouth turned down in a frown. "But we need to talk."

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The next chapter is probably one of my favorite chapters I've ever written X3 it is just full of fluff and cheesy goodness. But... you'll have to wait a little for it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

Ayumi skipped along the road towards where she knew the 'haunted house' also known as where Shinichi lived. Mitsuhiko and Genta followed her a bit awkwardly as she so cheerfully made her way to Shinichi's house. "Ayumi-chan, didn't he say he would be at the park later?" Mitsuhiko asked. 

"That's right, maybe we should just go there," Genta agreed.

"He said maybe," Ayumi frowned. "I want to invite him to make sure," she said with a grin. "I wanna see grown up Shinichi-nii-chan."

"Why?" Mitsuhiko and Genta asked together.

Ayumi blushed and crossed her arms. "None of your business," she stated loudly and continued to walk towards her destination while trying to lead her friends away from the real reason she wanted to see Shinichi. She wanted to make sure, know for certain that Shinichi was Conan, and if he was… well, she decided that if he was then she didn't care. A woman's heart never lies and she knew she had chosen the right person to place it on.

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"T-talk?" Shinichi asked. "Well I was going to come over later…" he said, looking a little uncomfortable.

"No, now," Ran said. "Please, Shinichi. I just… why? Why didn't you tell me?" Ran wrapped her arms around herself and shivered even though it was a perfectly mild day. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course!" Shinichi protested. "Of course I do," he said as he walked over to Ran and took her by the shoulders. The action startled the girl and she looked up into Shinichi's eyes and saw that he was being completely honest. "Ran, I trust you otherwise I wouldn't have stayed. Truth be told, I was ready to tell you what happened several times, but every time something happened or I changed my mind.

"I never told you because I didn't want to endanger you," he said. Before she could protest Shinichi plunged on. "Look, I know you think I was being stupid but I…" Shinichi bit his lip. "I couldn't take it if I knew I was responsible for your death."

"I don't care," Ran said softly.

"What?" Shinichi asked.

Ran smiled a tiny smile that seemed to make her whole face glow. "Shinichi, remember when I was stuck inside the building with the bombs, and you came and sat outside the door and promised that if we died, we would die together?"

"Yes…" Shinichi said slowly. He remembered that incident very well. In fact, he had never been so rightfully frightened in his whole life. Until he met up with Vermouth, that is.

"Shinichi," Ran said his name again, just savoring the feel that saying it gave her. Saying his name out loud seemed to give her some kind of strength that she had never known until she admitted to herself that she loved him. "If you were to die, then I think I can say, especially after these past few months, that I would want nothing more then to be with you. Even if it meant to loose my own life."

"Ran…" Shinichi barely whispered her name as he looked at the girl he loved bare her emotions to him in a way he had never seen before.

"I would gladly die with you, Shinichi," she said with a tiny smile. "I know it sounds hokey, but we've been through so much and I know that I can say that and I know that it's true." She blinked and realized that she wanted to say what had been on her chest for months and months and months.

"I…" Shinichi started but ran lifted a hand and placed her fingers on Shinichi's lips, shaking her head.

"No wait," she said. "I'm not done." She took a deep breath and looked up at Shinichi, deciding that the time was right, since she now knew that she may not have a chance to say it to his face, that face, for a long time. "Shinichi, I love you."

This of course was no old news to Shinichi but all the same he felt a rush go through his body as he heard these words spoken to him for the first time. He had heard them, and he had been told them, but the first time he was the recipient of the message affected him in a way he wasn't ready for.

He continued to hold Ran by the shoulders as he stared at her for a few seconds, then he realized that he was probably obliged to come forth with his own telling. "Ran… I…" he swallowed hard, knowing that he was at a no return point but somehow the next words came quite easily to him. He relaxed a little and smiled, "I love you, too," he replied.

The epitome of every romance scene in any girly romance movie Ran had ever seen was just played out in her real life. No life threatening moments, no getting ready to face almost certain death, no action scene. Just them, in front of his house admitting none to secret feelings for each other on a normal day. In fact, if she could just ignore the part where Shinichi turned six the next day she could almost say it was the ideal setting for a hopeless romantic like herself.

She figured that because of the ideal setting, the next part came particularly easy for her and probably Shinichi as well. She smiled and linked her hands loosely around Shinichi's neck and stepped closer to him, enjoying the blush that fled over his cheeks. "I've been waiting to hear that," she said softly. "In your voice."

Shinichi smiled and took his hands from Ran's shoulders and linked them loosely around Ran's waist. "I've told you before."

Ran snorted, "While we were being shot at and I didn't have my memory."

Shinichi shrugged and gave Ran a half grin. "Well, it seemed like a good thing to say at the moment. And what about you? You admitted it when we were on a plane about to crash from lack of fuel. And when you first saw me as Conan," he added as an afterthought.

Ran blushed. "That WAS you?" she asked. "Oh no, I thought that was Kid."

"Does it matter?" Shinichi asked with a small laugh.

Ran blushed, "Not really. No," she admitted.

They both looked at each other while in each others arms at a loss of what to say next now that they had finally admitted everything. It seemed that there was just a single option left and when Ran realized that Shinichi wasn't going to be the one to start it, she took it upon herself to steal her first kiss.

She stood on her tiptoes and leaned in and a moment later, Shinichi took the hint and leaned in himself. Their lips met suddenly but neither one pulled back. In the house, Yukiko pulled a curtain closed with a wicked grin. Coming back to Japan had been the right thing to do after all.

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"Maybe we can get ice-cream later!" Ayumi said happily as they turned to corner onto the street that Shinichi and the Professor lived. She was walking backwards while talking to Mitsuhiko and Genta as they walked. The two boys stopped suddenly and stared open mouthed at something behind her. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Wordlessly they both pointed behind her and Ayumi slowly turned around. She gasped in horror as she saw Shinichi and Ran still embracing and savoring their first kiss. She saw Ran sink down to rest on her feet and smile sweetly up at Shinichi and say something that she couldn't hear. Then she saw Shinichi chuckle and reply to whatever Ran had said then lean in for another kiss which the older girl happily obliged.

"Ayumi-chan?" Mitsuhiko asked softly. He knew how much she liked Conan who now it turned out was Shinichi. But he had also known that Ran loved Shinichi and that Conan loved Ran, which in the end meant that Shinichi loved Ran. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that poor Ayumi never had a chance to begin with.

Ayumi lowered her gaze so that she couldn't see the loving couple anymore. This time Genta was the one who tried to talk to her. "Ayumi-chan?" he asked, putting his large hand on her shoulder.

Ayumi tore from his touch and ran back down the street that they had just come from. Genta ran after her wordlessly without a look back. Mitsuhiko took one peek at Shinichi and Ran who were once again engaged in conversation and then followed his friends down the street.

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"So you forgive me?" Shinichi asked softly.

"Silly," Ran smiled. "Of course I don't. Not yet, anyway. You have a long way to go before I'm not mad at you anymore. But, if it helps, I do see why you did what you did."

"That's a relief," Shinichi sighed.

Ran opened her mouth to say something else but her cell phone decided to ring at that moment. She frowned and shifted in Shinichi's embrace to reach it and flip it open. "Yes?" she asked. Her eyes widened. "Mom?" she asked. "Oh no, I'm so sorry. I didn't forget, no. It's just that… Yeah. Well, you see, Shinichi came into town and I…" she stopped suddenly and blushed and in turn Shinichi blushed as well. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry." She paused again. "No, no, don't cancel. I do want to hang out. But…"

"Go," Shinichi said softly. "It's all right."

"But…" Ran protested.

"You've seen me every day for the past 10 months," Shinichi chuckled. "I think a day without me won't kill you. You never see your mom, much less hang out with her. It's all right."

"You're being awfully understanding today," Ran laughed.

"I'm just an understanding kind of guy," Shinichi teased. "Besides, I have to go to the police station later to talk with Inspector Megure and the others. I don't think you'll enjoy that."

Ran sighed. "All right. But tomorrow?"

"I'll be like this at least until 10 am tomorrow, probably later. If she said it would work for 48 hours, then it probably will," Shinichi told her. "I'll hang out with you then. I promise."

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Fluff...lookit the fluff... Hee hee...

Yeah, I'm on some pretty heavy pain releif right now. Hope you enjoyed the chapter X3


	6. Chapter 6

"She?" Ran asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ah well… I meant," Shinichi tried to cover his blunder but Ran had already started to talk on the phone again.

"It's okay mom. I'll meet you in a bit." Ran paused. "All right. See you then. Bye." Ran hung up and reluctantly stepped out of Shinichi's embrace. "Well, I have to go but…" she blushed. "You'll really be here? Tomorrow?"

"Yeup," Shinichi said with a grin. "And I'll do what you want tomorrow. Except! See a romance movie," he said with a frown.

Ran stuck her tongue out at him. "Fine, I'll just find some other girly thing for us to do then."

"Hey, no fair taking advantage," Shinichi yelled after her as she ran down the street.

"You owe me about a years worth of taking advantage, Shinichi Kudou!" Ran yelled back before she turned around and ran out of sight.

"Che," Shinichi tutted and walked back into his house. "We'll see," he muttered.

Shinichi returned to his house where Hattori was waiting with his arms crossed. "Where did you go, down town?" he asked.

Shinichi blushed and trotted past his friend to pick up his wallet. "No, I just… met with a friend outside," he said. "Come on, I gotta go to the police now and I want you to explain what happened on the boat the night I met up with Vermouth."

"All right," Hattori agreed with an odd look at Shinichi's back. He could tell something happened but he couldn't tell what. Perhaps he would find out as time went on.

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Shinichi and Hattori sat across from Takagi, Megure and Satou in a soundproof room at the head quarters. Megure was the first to speak after a long silence between the two parties. "Well, Kudou-kun, what didn't you say last night?"

Shinichi bit his lower lip. He wasn't sure what to say and what not to say in an effort to keep at least part of what he knew secret. It wouldn't do anyone any good if he told too much or too little. Satou was the one who took care of this little problem.

"Kudou-kun," she snapped in a voice that made all four males stare at her in rapt attention.

"Y-yes?" Shinichi asked.

"You will tell us everything, understand? I'm aware that you don't think we can handle this, but I'm here to tell you that you're wrong. We are trained to handle this kind of thing and we are also older then you. Inspector Megure has decades of experience and Takagi-kun and myself have a few years. So, why don't you stop trying to play the lone gunman and ask for help dammit!" she snapped and Shinichi blinked at her, at a loss for words as she lectured him.

"You are what, 16? 17? As impressive as your resume is, it doesn't change the fact that you are a high school student. You need to accept adult help, Kudou-kun. The world as a whole doesn't revolve around you. Understand?" she asked and Shinichi nodded numbly in return. "Good," she sighed and sank into her chair. "Now, what were you going to tell us?"

Shinichi exchanged nervous glances with Hattori who also shrugged in return. Shinichi then sighed and leaned back in his chair. He brought his arms up and fingers together in a steeple position, the classic thinking pose of the detective. Finally, he began to talk. "As far as the Black Syndicate goes, right now the FBI are the ones tracking them. I've run across both of them at several points. Jodie Santemillion is an FBI agent that knows who I am. Or at least, has a very good idea. So does her superior."

"You're involved with the FBI?" Megure asked, shocked that Shinichi had managed to get himself in something so deep, especially as a six year old.

Shinichi nodded. "Yeah. Anyways, they are the ones that are going after the Black Syndicate." Shinichi gritted his teeth and sighed. "There is a woman, whose code name is Vermouth, known as Belmont in Japan. She… she also knows who I am."

"What?" the three police officers across from Shinichi were all stunned.

"You're saying that a Black Organization member knows your identity?" Takagi asked in a quiet voice.

Shinichi nodded. "And she has absolutely no intention of telling anyone, either. In fact she went out of her way to make sure that she didn't kill me, or Ran," he added as an afterthought. Jodie had told him everything that happened that day, while he was unconscious. He always wondered why the woman had shown Ran so much mercy. "I don't know why, but I will say this. Vermouth is a very dangerous woman and she is a master of disguise. She could, at any time be among any group and blend perfectly in. Her known name is, Chris Vineyard."

"You're joking," Megure said quietly, trying to let the information sink in. "The famous American actress is a part of the underground Syndicate?"

"Very high ranking too," Shinichi added. "She is definitely someone to keep an eye out for."

"The night that we brought down the man who was forced to murder, at the masquerade party, I was on the other end, taking the deductions from Kudou and figuring out the rest," Heiji began. "That whole case was wrapped up in the Black Syndicate, if you want to open it again."

Shinichi nodded. "But you can't let them know you know. Otherwise…"

"We understand," Megure said kindly. "This will be an investigation just among us three and it will be completely off the books. We'll be very careful."

"And you two have to promise to bring us anything you find out. Understand?" Satou asked in her calm, decisive voice.

"Yes ma'am," Shinichi and Heiji said together.

Satou nodded. "Good. Now, you two can go as long as there isn't anything you're not telling us."

"There isn't," Shinichi assured her. "Except…" he frowned. "Well, there is a Black Organization member who is currently in a coma in a hospital. But she's being monitored by the FBI so I don't think you'll be able to follow that lead."

"All right," Megure said. "Thanks for telling us though."

"Bye," Shinichi said, waving.

"See ya," Heiji said with a grin and left as well.

"Those kids…" Satou sighed. "When I was 17, I was worrying about my next test. Not whether or not my life was targeted by a secret organization that dealt in organized crime."

"They chose that when they adopted the title of 'detective'," Megure told her kindly. "Now, let's decide how we'll work this out…" he said and flipped open his notebook.

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"So, we visit your girlfriend now?" Heiji teased.

"Nah," Shinichi replied in a careless manner. "She's with her mom right now, but it's okay. We've uh… worked things out."

Heiji looked over at Shinichi and took in his mysterious little grin. "What happened this morning?"

"That is a secret," Shinichi replied with a smirk. "And also none of your business."

"Awww, come on, Kudou. Tell me, what happened?" Heiji nudged Shinichi with his elbow.

"Nope," Shinichi said and laughed at Heiji's obvious confusion. "Never mind that, what do you want to do now?"

"Huh, I don't know," Heiji frowned. "Park? Or maybe a movie? I dunno Kudou, it's your day in your normal body, what do you want to do?"

"Park sounds nice," Shinichi said while stretching his hands over his head. "After everything that's happened I kind of just want to be outside for a bit."

"You don't want to run into anyone you know at the mall," Heiji accused him.

Shinichi shrugged. "Okay, that too," he admitted. "I want to avoid questions if at all possible."

"Makes sense," Heiji agreed. "The fewer questions the better. At least until we've taken down the organization and you're back to normal for good."

Shinichi nodded. "Exactly," he said and looked around the park. There were families with younger children eating and small kids playing but not many high school kids to be seen and none that he knew. "Here is good," he said and sat down in the grass.

"It's a pain being a famous detective, isn't it?" Heiji teased.

"Oh shut up, 'Detective of the West'," Shinichi snorted. "Like you don't work just as hard as I did to get all the publicity that came with solving murders."

"I confirm nor deny without evidence," Heiji said and sat down next to Shinichi. "As always."

Shinichi let out a slow breath. "As always, huh?" he asked. "No room for speculation?"

"Is there ever?" Heiji asked and looked to the side. "Speaking of speculation. Two of your little posse is coming over here and they don't look happy."

Shinichi turned to see Mitsuhiko and Genta walking over with serious frowns on their young faces. The sight almost made Shinichi burst out laughing but he decided against it when he realized they were really angry. "Hey," he said. "What's up?"

"Why did you have to do that?" Mitsuhiko asked angrily.

"Do… what?" Shinichi asked, a little confused.

"Ayumi-chan just wanted to come visit," Mitsuhiko continued, either ignoring Shinichi or not hearing him.

"That's right, and then we saw you…you…" Genta blushed.

"Oh," Shinichi said softly.

"Wait, saw what?" Heiji asked.

"He and Ran-nee-chan were kissing!" Mitsuhiko said loudly while blushing. Several people turned to see what the commotion was about and Shinichi put his finger to his lips in an effort to quiet the boy down.

"Shhhh… I didn't realize people were watching," Shinichi protested. "I thought I said I would come to the park, why did you go to my house?"

"You kissed?" Heiji asked, blinking in surprise.

"Because Ayumi-chan wanted to visit and make plans!" Genta told Shinichi.

"That's right!" Mitsuhiko agreed. "Ayumi-chan… she…" Mitsuhiko frowned wondering if he should say what he was about to say next. He decided to keep on going and plunged on. "She likes you. She likes Conan. You have to know that by now. But earlier…"

"She saw," Shinichi said with a sigh. "Well, I mean. Ran and I…" he frowned, wondering how to put it in simpler terms for a pair of first graders who had a crush on the girl who he had obviously just inadvertently hurt.

"You kissed?" Heiji asked again.

"Yes, we kissed. Why do you care?" Shinichi asked him in a flat voice.

"Well, I…" Heiji grinned. "Heh, I hate to say this Kudou, but it's about damn time."

"Oh what do you care about my love life when yours is so obviously not even existent," Shinichi teased. "It's not like you'll ever get the guts to admit you love her."

"Sh-shut up!" Heiji stuttered. "I don't have the circumstances you do, Kudou. Ran-chan probably thought she was on borrowed time and that's why she acted so quickly. Still…"

"We're still here you know," Genta said huffily.

"I know you are," Shinichi sighed. "Where's Ayumi-chan?"

"We don't know. That's why we came to you. You can find her with the badges," Mitsuhiko said pointedly.

Shinichi reached into his pocket and pulled out the glasses he wore as Conan. "Okay, fair enough," he replied and turned the tracer on. "Well, she's in the park," he said after looking at the red dots. He stood up and dusted off his pants and looked around. "Pretty close by too."

Heiji elbowed Shinichi as he began to walk towards where Ayumi's icon blinked on the map. "So, that's what you were all secretive about. Did you two say 'I love you' among the blossoming cherry blossoms as well?"

Shinichi blushed. "Don't be stupid!" he snapped. "There weren't any flowering plants around us," he said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, but you admitted eternal love to one another!" Heiji continued. He clasped his hands together and brought them up by his face and batted his eyes in a ridiculous manner. "Oh Shinichi! She said, 'I love you!'"

"Heiji…" Shinichi growled.

"And you," Heiji continued, ignoring the warning from his friend. "Ran. You said and looked deep into her eyes. I love you too."

"Will you shut up!" Shinichi snapped loudly.

Heiji looked at Shinichi's red face and smirked. "You're just upset because give or take a long moment or two that's exactly how it happened. And then after you admitted your feelings, you kissed!" he snorted and started to laugh.

"When I find out and you and Kazuha start going steady, I swear I will make you eat every word," Shinichi growled dangerously.

Hattori shut up, but not after getting in one more chuckle at Shinichi's expense. 


	7. Chapter 7

Hattori shut up, but not after getting in one more chuckle at Shinichi's expense. 

"Ummm…" Mitsuhiko turned bright red. "Really?" he asked.

"No," Shinichi said in a dark voice. "It did not happen that way. Hattori is just being a moron."

"I never get to tease you out in the open like this," Heiji laughed. "You know how awkward it is to get away with making fun of a six year old?"

"You do it amazingly well quite often," Shinichi told him dryly.

"When we're alone," Heiji shrugged. "Then again, it's kind of hard to admit to others that one of my best friends appears to be six."

"Gee, thanks," Shinichi told Heiji sarcastically. He stepped up to a tree and looked up. "Well, here we are," he sighed.

"Ayumi-chan?" Genta called up into the tree.

After no reply for a few minutes Shinichi decided to give it a go. "Hey, Ayumi-chan, you up there?" he called.

"No, go away!" a small sob came down from the upper branches.

Shinichi sighed and handed the glasses to Heiji. "You should come down from there. You're too high up," he called. "If you fall you'll get really hurt."

"I don't care. Go away," Ayumi said again.

"She's really hurt," Heiji said with a frown. "She really liked you, Kudou."

Shinichi sighed. "She liked Conan. Conan doesn't exist. Still," he frowned. "She's going to get hurt if she stays up there like that.

"What are you going to do?" Genta asked.

Shinichi grabbed the lowest branch and swung himself, cat-like, into it. "Get her," he answered, "before she hurts herself."

"Careful, Kudou," Heiji said warningly. "Some of those branches look a little worn."

Shinichi nodded and climbed up the tree. He found Ayumi sitting on a branch near the top, her back facing him. He smiled and rested his arms on the branch she was sitting on, while standing on a branch a good ways below that one. "Genta and Mitsuhiko are worried about you," he said softly. "You should go down."

Ayumi rubbed her eyes on the back of her hand and sniffled. "I don't care. Leave me alone."

"So you did see me and Ran earlier today," Shinichi said with a frown. "Look, I don't know how to say this… but…"

Ayumi cut him off. "You love her," she sniffed. "And she loves you back. That's how it works, isn't it?"

"Well… kind of," Shinichi agreed. "We're also childhood friends. We've been through lots of things together and it's something that's taken years to develop."

"Haven't we been through things too?" Ayumi asked and turned around suddenly. "Aren't we friends? Conan-kun…" she looked at Shinichi's older face and shook her head. "Conan-kun."

Shinichi gave her a small smile for her benefit. "Yeah, we're friends. Don't worry, I'm still here and I'm still the same person. And if it makes you feel any better you're going to have to call me Conan-kun once I'm little again. I can't let anyone else know I'm Shinichi."

Ayumi gave Shinichi a watery smile for his efforts. She nodded, "I know. I won't let anyone know, I promise."

"Good," Shinichi said, trying not to talk down to her. "Now, will you please come out of this tree?"

Ayumi nodded. "Okay," she said. "But you have to get out first. You're standing on the branch I used to get up here."

"All right," Shinichi said and climbed out of the tree and landed softly on his feet on the ground below. "Okay, come on!" he called back up into the tree.

Ayumi followed her path back down the tree but somewhere along the way her foot slipped and with a small yelp she felt herself loose her grip and fall out of the tree. She shut her eyes tightly and waited for impact with the ground but instead she felt herself fall into a pair of strong arms. When she opened her eyes she saw Shinichi looking down at her with a frown. "See?" he asked. "That's why I wanted you to come out. What would have happened if I wasn't here?"

"Then I would have caught her," Genta said proudly.

"Oh, right," Shinichi muttered, the sarcastic subtext missed by everyone but Heiji who laughed quietly.

Shinichi set Ayumi gently onto the ground and straightened up. "Well, here I am. What do you want to do?"

Ayumi quickly dried any remaining tears. "Let's go get ice-cream!" she said happily.

"Okay," Shinichi agreed.

He and Heji led the kids over to a small open café and sat down around a large circular table. Ayumi quickly jumped into the seat next to Shinichi and Hattori took the chair on his other side. Mitsuhiko and Genta both sat down in the remaining chairs and picked up the colorful menus.

"What is this place?" Heiji asked as he scanned the dessert section. "It's really nice."

Shinichi grinned. "Ran discovered this place when we were in 6th grade. I remember she dragged me here after a soccer game as a celebration. We've come here a lot since. She always gets a parfait," Shinichi said while rolling his eyes. "Always."

Heji burst out laughing. "Yeah, Kazuha gets them too. Especially the ones with the bananas," he explained, holding his hand above the table to emphasize how big it was.

"Yeah the whole ones?" Shinichi asked. "With the sauce?"

Heiji nodded. "I wonder how they can eat them," he muttered, shaking his head.

"And then you get a hamburger and they complain about how they'll get fat," Shinichi added as he put down the menu, having made his decision even before he picked it up.

"Yes!" Heiji agreed loudly. "I know! They eat those huge ice cream things but when we want actual food they are all health conscious."

Shinichi sighed and shook his head. "I never understood it."

"Tell me about it," Heiji added sulkily.

The three 1st graders stared at the two ranting boys silently. They had absolutely no idea what to make of the rant or even what they were ranting about. Ayumi was a little upset about it because she knew that Shinichi was talking about Ran. She was still upset about having her crush crushed but she didn't want anyone else to know.

"Umm…" Mitsuhiko said slowly and pointed to the menu. "I think I know what I want."

Shinichi and Hattori exchanged glances and burst out laughing. "Sorry," Heiji said while waving his hand dismissively. "We're just ranting about older kid stuff. You'll understand when you're in high school."

Shinichi shook his head. "7th grade tops," he challenged.

Heiji looked thoughtful then nodded. "Yeah, he's right. 7th grade sounds about right."

Just then a waiter came over and held out a note pad. "Have you decided what you want?" she asked.

"Chocolate milkshake," Shinichi and Heiji both said together. They caught one another's eye and announced, "Large."

Ayumi shook her head, amused. "Does everything have to be a contest?" she asked.

Both boys looked blankly at her then at each other. Ayumi decided not to pursue it and pointed to a pretty looking caramel sundae on the page. "Can I have this?" she asked.

The waiter looked at it and nodded. "Do you want it small?" she asked.

Ayumi looked at Shinichi who nodded. Ayumi followed suit and nodded to the waiter. "Yes, small please!" she said happily.

"I would like a strawberry sundae with chocolate ice cream, please," Mitsuhiko said politely.

"I want a big brownie blast!" Genta announced. "And I want it normal sized."

Everyone at the table looked a little awkward as the larger child placed his order. Then again it was up to him what he ate.

A few minutes later, their treats were brought out and Shinichi and Hattori promptly began to drink their milkshakes, having some stupid contest to see who could finish it off the fastest.

Ayumi scooted a little closer to Mitsuhiko and glanced at the two high school students. "I don't understand…" she said softly.

"They're having fun, I think," Mitsuhiko answered in a whisper. "Think about it. They're best friends but they never actually get to hang out like this because Shinichi-nii-chan is always little like us. Maybe this is just their way of having fun together."

"Oh," Ayumi said softly. "I still don't get it."

* * *

Later that evening the two older boys walked the little kids home then returned to Shinichi's house. They walked upstairs and pulled out a chess game. 

"So," Hattori said finally after three moves.

"So," Shinichi replied, moving his knight up one and over two spaces to be in front of his Queen.

"You're going to turn back soon," Hattori stated as he countered by moving his own knight into the same exact spot.

"Hmm…" Shinichi murmured as he pretended to think about his next move.

"Kudou," Hattori said slowly. "What next?"

"I don't know, I'm thinking," Shinichi told Heiji pointedly.

"Not the game you moron, your life. What next?" Heiji asked.

Shinichi didn't take his eyes off the game and simply made his move. Heiji sighed and made his own move, wondering if he pushed his friend too far. They were silent for a long while as they played the game. After about two hours Shinichi opened his mouth to talk. "I'm going to move ahead," he said simply. "Everyone knows, so there's no point in keeping it a secret anymore. I'm going to go after the Black Organization and take them down."

Heiji looked up at Shinichi, mouth open. "You sure, Kudou?" he asked.

Shinichi nodded and used his bishop and placed it one square diagonally from Heiji's king. He grinned and nodded. "I'm tired of hiding, and I'm tired of staying in the background and waiting for clues. I'm going to do things a little differently and take them down."

"Bold words," Heiji murmured.

Shinichi shrugged, "It's time," he said simply. "And checkmate."

Heiji grinned and shook his head. "You got me," he said simply. "Now what?"

Shinichi stood up and stretched, "Well, I'm a bit tired…" he started before grabbing his chest and falling onto one knee.

"Kudou?" Heiji asked.

"It's…starting…" Shinichi said thickly. He gritted his teeth and fell forward so that his head was on the carpet. "Damn…" he murmured before he passed out.

"Kudou!" he heard Heiji gasp before everything went black.

* * *

Shinichi groaned and opened his eyes slowly. He felt someone stroking his hair and looked up to see his mom smiling down at him. "Hn?" he asked. 

"You're little again," his mom told him simply as she gave him a sad smile.

"You okay?" Heiji asked.

Shinichi sat up and saw that he was in his pajamas. He guessed that his mom had changed him. "I'm fine," he sighed.

Heiji nodded, obviously relieved. "So, you serious about what you said?"

Shinichi nodded. "Yeah."

"Good luck then," Heiji said. "We're gonna need it."

* * *

I know I haven't updated this in forever. Sorry. 

However, 10th movie. Awesomness. Go watch :o

Also, Kaitou Kid will be getting an arc real shortly here :D Yay Kaitou Kid! Thanks for the reviews, hugs to all my reviewers.


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